Our next to last full day in Tokyo began in earnest when Phil & I took the Keisei line train to Shiodome where we transferred onto the Yurikamome line that took us to the Tokyo Big Sight station. Just across the Rainbow Bridge, as we passed into Odaiba, we could see the life-sized Unicorn Gundam, and nearby it a massive crowd of people gathered for the BMSG FES’25 music festival.
We arrived at the Big Sight station at 10:30. My friend Jon informed us via text message that he’d arrive at 11:08. So while Phil browsed his phone for updates on the upcoming Tokyo sumo tournament, I went downstairs to a vending machine and purchased a 220 yen aluminum can of Suntory Hyper Zone Energy Black Punch.
I thought the beverage was an energy cola, but it describes itself as an “energy drink.” It tasted like a cola mixed with weak coffee. Jon arrived on time and immediately descended the escalator and through the station’s exit gates. So Phil & I chased after him until we got him to come back our way. Then the three of us walked across the elevated walkway to the Big Sight convention center.
I showed Jon the Comic SDF 17 official website. He noticed that the website didn’t stipulate where exactly within the large Big Sight convention center the event was being held. So we went to the information desk, which directed us across the floor to the escalator. On the second floor we immediately spied admission tables leading into a comic convention. The signage, however, said nothing about “Comic SDF.” As we tried to work out whether or not we were at the correct venue, an English-speaking guide approached us. When I showed him the event website on my phone, he said we’d reached the correct place. The convention admission was 1,500 yen. A copy of the printed convention catalog was an additional 1,000 yen. I opted for both.
The ”small” convention floor consisted of nine rows of tables back-to-back, a total of over 250 tables. One side of the convention space, against the wall, was devoted to displays of fan-created figures and jointed action figures.
Two rows of tables adjacent to the display space were given over to exhibitors who primarily offered or displayed their custom-made, limited edition action figures. The rest of the room was filled with amateur doujinshi artists grouped by parody. All of the Kemono Friends doujinshi creators were stationed together. All of the Girls Und Panzer doujin artists were grouped together. All of the Kantai Collection artists were together. All of the Blue Archive artists were together. The convention seemed to be themed toward military=esque bishoujo plus Kemono Friends.
I quickly realized the unusual circumstance, by American standards, that artists offering adult and pornographic comics were intermixed with artists selling all-ages comics. Adult comics were labeled as such on their printed covers, but no other effort was seemingly made or required to distinguish erotica from all-ages material. And little effort seemed necessary as the entire population of the convention appeared to be young adults, with a few attendees like ourselves escalating into middle-age. I never saw a single child at the show. There were a moderate number of cosplayers; nearly all of them were women. By rough estimate, the ratio of male to female artists was 80/20, but I did purchase some erotic manga from young women artists.
My convention haul was 23 doujinshi autographed by their creators, one doujinshi signed by artist “Fullauto Firing” with an accompanying simple sketch, two doujinshi from creators who declined to autograph their comics, two doujinshi from artists who weren’t present at their table when I purchased the comics, one Dirty Pair 40th anniversary color illustrated shikishi that cost 1,500 yen, one color mini-shikishi that cost 1,000 yen, and one color mini-shikishi that cost 4,000 yen. I was especially thrilled to find the Dirty Pair illustration. I was also thrilled to find artist “Blue Mage (Aoi Manabu)” whose doujin comic “Soineya to Dagashiya,” I’d already purchased a brand new copy of from Mandarake four days earlier. I bought a second copy directly from him that he autographed for me.
When we exited the show and returned to the first floor, Phil requested that we detour so he could purchase a drink. So we walked over to the Lawsons convenience store located within the Big Sight building lobby. When we reached the store, I excitedly pointed out a poster advertising Heartcatch Precure goods.
Jon explained to me that the poster was advertising one of the store’s ongoing Ichiban Kuji prize lotteries. For 770 I could purchase a ticket that would be redeemed for a prize from category I through A; however, the store’s singular A and B prizes, figures of Cure Black and Cure White, had already been won. Since I’d never participated in an Ichiban Kuji drawing before, I decided to give the lottery a shot, fully expecting to win the “I” prize, a roll of Precure packing tape. At the Lawsons cashier counter, I handed over the purchase card and 770 yen. The cashier picked up a box of Ojamajo Doremi tickets, scanned the box, and deposited my money. Jon noticed the error and explained to the cashier that I’d wanted the Pretty Cure lottery, not the Ojamajo Doremi lottery. The cashier apologized then had to refund my payment to himself then re-deposit the payment into the cash register machine’s coin collector. I randomly drew my ticket and peeled it open. I’d won one of the “H” prizes, a random Pretty Cure keychain. Another store clerk brought out four matching boxes for me to choose from. I picked one and dropped it into my backpack. The memorable experience of winning a prize in an Ichiban Kuji campaign is more valuable to me than the meager prize I won. So I have no intention of opening the box to see which blind-box keychain I received.
Phil decided that the checkout line at the convenience store was inconveniently long, so he instead purchased a drink from a vending machine. I suggested that we grab lunch at DevilCraft, one of Jon’s favorite restaurants. So Jon led us on the trains from Koto City in Ariake to the DevilCraft bar and restaurant in Hamamatsucho.
We ordered a plate of waffle fries with meat chili followed by a “large” Detroit-style supreme pizza minus green peppers. Over the next few hours Jon ate a slice of pie, and he and Phil both had a few beers. Our conversation ranged from Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Salo to the Mission: Impossible film franchise to St. Seiya anime installments to 1995’s Jyusenshi Gulkeeva television series to 1990’s Magical Taruruto TV anime to Studio A.P.P.P. and its 1999 Kacho Ouji television series to one-hit wonder bands that spun off from musician Prince and more.
Around 7pm we parted ways at the Hamamatsucho train station. Going on advice from Jon, Phil & I walked to the very far end of the #2 Yamanote line station in search of the replica of the Belgian “Manneken Pis” statue. When we realized that the statue was at the end of the #3 platform, we walked around, up and down the terminal stairs, and to the end of the #3 platform so Phil could snap photos of the statue loving dressed in a jester clown’s silken outfit for Halloween.
Then Phil & I took the trains back to Aoto. We parted at the station. Phil headed back to our rental house. I went to the Daiso store in search of packing supplies, but just as I reached the store, the intercom announced that the store was closing for the night. So I walked back to our rental.
Phil caught up with the sumo highlights on YouTube. I referred to Google Maps and learned that a “small” two-story Don Quixote store and a relatively large Yoshinoya restaurant lay just up the road perpendicular to our house. After Phil was rested, we walked the ten-minutes from our house on 5 Chome to the Yoshinoya restaurant. After our dinner, we walked up the block to the “DonKi” store.
A thorough examination of the store turned up a variety of surprises. The Don Quixote store seemed initially like a conventional Japanese grocery, but we discovered that it also carried small home appliances including television and clothes washers, motorcycle helmets, clothing, hard liquor, children’s toys, luggage, wrist watches, marital aids including “concentrated horse penis extract,” and gag gifts including men’s underwear that dispense hand tissues through the crotch.
